Turkish Festival Promises $320,000 Prize Purse in Competition

"A Separation" director Asghar Farhadi, who be a guest of honor at the Turkish festival, is seen at the 2012 Oscars.

Antalya's Golden Orange Film Festival has unveiled a slate of 10 films selected to contend for national honors.

MOSCOW -- One of the world's richest movie event prize purses -- totaling more than $320,000 -- was made public Saturday when Turkey's 50th International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, which opens Oct. 4, announced its national competition line-up.

The 10 films selected for the national competition, from a field of 62 under consideration, will be eligible for some of the festival circuit's biggest prizes, including 350,000 Turkish Lire (around $172,000) for best film; $49,000 for best first feature; $27,000 for best director; and $17,000 for best screenplay.

There is $45,000 available in total for excellent cinematography, music and documentary filmmaking. For best short $7,000 is earmarked and $2,500 for best first documentary.

The international line up was announced earlier this month; titles include Ari Folman's The Congress, starring Robin Wright, and Thai director Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit's 36, which recently won the New Currents Award at the Busan Film Festival.

Renowned as a festival that gives lavish hospitality to its guests, with a closing ceremony held in a Roman Ampitheater, guest of honor this year is Oscar-winning Iranian director of A Separation, Asghar Farhadi.

The director and actor Ali Mustafa will be attending the screening of his latest work Le Passé, for which Berenice Bejo won a best leading actress award at the Cannes Film Festival.